Earlier this week, veteran F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck told El Confidencial newspaper: "To see Fernando Alonso at the back of the grid is a joke.

"I can understand why it came to the point that he said 'I have to go somewhere else', but at the same time it must be so hard for him to see what could have been his car (the Ferrari) this year. Jesus!" he added.

Alonso's manager and former Renault boss Briatore, however, said he is confident the 33-year-old has made the right move.

"Alonso switched teams and Ferrari are happy to have made the big decision, right?" the flamboyant Italian reportedly smiled ironically to the Italian glossy magazine Chi.

"But they are still only second and not first, so Fernando was right, even if - honestly - I find formula one today a great bore," Briatore added.